DIY: Framed Fortuny Fabrics

Fortuny fabric is luxurious patterned art. And it is priced accordingly. But did you know, you can still have some of it for an affordable price? You can even have a collection of it to frame as wall art!

Source: Fortuny Venezia on Instagram

You don’t have to be fortunate to have a fortune to spend on Fortuny. Just don’t buy a whole bolt like this.

FINDING FORTUNY FABRIC REMNANTS

Instead, search eBay for “Fortuny remnants” and you’ll find shops selling small sample pieces of Fortuny fabrics. A Fortuny fabric remnant sized 8.5 x 11 inches is about $20 if no one bids against you.

I have purchased Fortuny fabric remnants from “rrrca1” eBay store and Caravan of Textiles eBay store (what a great supplier for a Nomadic Decorator, huh!?). Both stores sell smaller pieces of expensive designer fabrics. This makes it affordable to use luxury fabrics for small projects. You can make pillows. You can cover journals and books. You can frame the fabrics, or even cover wide frames with the fabrics. You can make little handbags.

The hard part is choosing the fabrics. Which ones? There are so many patterns and colors! For my DIY framed collection, I narrowed the choices by looking for the “tribal” inspired patterns in neutral and metallic colors. The Fortuny designs I used are called Ashanti, Cuzco, Maori and Peruviano.

Here’s a sample of Fortuny patterns and colors you can find on eBay …

From the Caravan of Textiles store:

And more colors:

The other eBay store that I’ve found consistently has Fortuny remnants is rrrca1:

So, I’d say to choose a few colors you like, and a pattern style you like — geometric? floral? swirly? — and watch for Fortuny fabrics that fit those. And if you are putting a collection of different fabrics together, obviously you want them all to look good together. Without some limits, it’s so hard to choose.

If you’re like these patterns and want to learn more about Fortuny, check out a good story about Mariano Fortuny and the company he founded, at Kristen Laird Design blog.

FINDING FRAMES

For inexpensive “art” I don’t pay for custom frames. Ready-made frames are just fine. The frames I used are from Michael’s. They are this frame in “rustic gold” color:

If you need many frames for a collection, the frames can actually cost more than the fabric! Here are some money-saving tips:

• If you want to buy these frames online, sign up for Michael’s coupons.
• If you buy frames in the store, there are often “Buy 1 Get 1 Free” or 50% Off sales on frames, and that’s how I got these four.
• You can also use the Michael’s shopping app on your smartphone. You can find coupons in the app. Pull out your phone at the cashier, open the app and they’ll scan the coupon.

Fortuny fabric remnants are usually 8.5 x 11 inches, so look for frames with a slightly smaller opening in the mat. A frame for a photo sized 8 x 10 inches is perfect, and this is a common size in frames.

DIY TUTORIAL FOR FRAMED FORTUNY FABRICS

It’s ridiculously easy to make a framed collection of Fortuny fabrics.

If you’re using a ready-made frame:

1. Open the backing
2. Remove the product marketing fillers
3. Pop the fabric into the frame (add a small piece of tape if you feel a need to secure it, but I did not do this, the frame pieces fit tightly enough to hold the fabric in place)
4. Close up the backing

You are done! Instant textile art collection! Isn’t that short tutorial kind of anticlimactic? But really, it is that easy. As I said above, the hardest part might be choosing the fabrics!

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